JP2017134752A - Information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a user to easily acquire a driver program suitable for a model.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus comprises an identification information acquisition part, an attribute information acquisition part, and a selection part. The identification information acquisition part acquires identification information for identifying a model. The attribute information acquisition part acquires attribute information indicating the attribute of a program applicable to the model on the basis of the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition part. The selection part selects a program on the basis of a priority predetermined for the attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

  Identifies the printer model, communicates with the server on the network, searches for and downloads the driver program from the server using the PDL (Page Description Language) supported by the model as a key, and downloads the downloaded driver program to the computer The installer to install is known. A manufacturer that manufactures and sells a printer generally provides a user with a driver program corresponding to a PDL suitable for the printer to be manufactured and sold, and an installer corresponding to the driver program.

  Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which an administrator uploads a driver program to a server, notifies the user of the driver program, and automatically generates a screen based on the number of downloaded driver programs. . According to Patent Literature 1, a user can easily obtain a driver program that is frequently used.

  Incidentally, there are generally a plurality of driver programs corresponding to different PDLs for the same model. At this time, the PDL supported by each of the plurality of driver programs for each model may differ depending on the model. Therefore, conventionally, it has been difficult to determine one PDL that can be recommended in common for a plurality of models. As an example, there is a case where a manufacturer sells a printer procured from another manufacturer such as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer).

  In an OEM printer, a suitable PDL may be different from a PDL suitable for a printer developed by the manufacturer. Conventional installers cannot automatically select an appropriate PDL from a plurality of PDLs when acquiring a driver program, and it is difficult to support printers from the manufacturer to the OEM. It was.

  Therefore, there is a problem that the user needs to explicitly select the necessary PDL and acquire the driver program. Further, even in the above-described Patent Document 1, the point that the user needs to explicitly select a driver program cannot be solved.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily obtain an appropriate driver program for a model.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention shows an identification information acquisition unit for acquiring identification information for identifying a model, and attributes of a plurality of programs applicable to the model based on the identification information An attribute information acquisition unit that acquires attribute information, and a selection unit that selects a program to be installed from a plurality of programs based on a predetermined priority order for the attribute information.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily obtain an appropriate driver program for a model.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of an information processing system applicable to each embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a driver program acquisition process by a PC, which can be applied to each embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a PC applicable to each embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server applicable to each embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a printer applicable to each embodiment. FIG. 6 is an exemplary functional block diagram for explaining functions of the PC according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the installer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of an example for explaining the functions of the printer applicable to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of server functions applicable to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process flow for introducing the driver program to the PC according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search request transmitted from the control unit to the server, applicable to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a search result transmitted from the server, applicable to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the architecture determination unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the display language determination unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the PDL determination unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the installer according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process flow for introducing the driver program to the PC according to the second embodiment. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the PDL determination unit according to the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of an option list screen according to the first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and an information processing program will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Configuration applicable to each embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an information processing system applicable to each embodiment. In FIG. 1, the information processing system includes a personal computer (PC) 10, printers 20 a and 20 b, and a server 30. In FIG. 1, the printers 20a and 20b are also shown as printer #A and printer #B. In the example of FIG. 1, a PC 10, a printer 20a, and a server 30 are connected to a network 40 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) so that they can communicate with each other. In the example of FIG. 1, the printer 20b is directly connected to the PC 10 by, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

  In such a configuration, the PC 10 can cause the printer 20a and the printer 20b to execute print processing by installing a driver program corresponding to the printer 20a and the printer 20b, for example. Here, the PC 10 can acquire a driver program corresponding to the printer 20 a or the printer 20 b from the server 30 via the network 40, for example.

  In the above description, the PC 10, the printer 20a, and the server 30 are connected via the network 40 that is a LAN, but this is not limited to this example. For example, one or more of the PC 10, the printer 20a, and the server 30 may be connected via the Internet. The network 40 may use any of wired communication and wireless communication, and may mix wired communication and wireless communication.

  Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 1, the devices that can be used by the PC 10 are shown as printers 20 a and 20 b, but this is not limited to this example. The device that can be used by the PC 10 may be a scanner, or an MFP (Multi Function Printer) that realizes a plurality of functions such as a printer function, a scanner function, and a copying function in a single casing.

  Since the printers 20a and 20b can be handled in the same manner except that the connection method to the PC 10 is different, the printers 20a and 20b will be described below by using the printer 20a as a representative unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a driver program acquisition process by the PC 10 applicable to each embodiment. When acquiring a driver program for using the printer 20a, the PC 10 first acquires identification information for identifying the printer 20a from the printer 20a (steps S1 and S2). As identification information for identifying the printer 20a, for example, a PnP (plug and play) device ID can be applied.

  When acquiring the identification information of the printer 20a, the PC 10 transmits the acquired identification information and a request for a driver program corresponding to the printer 20a to the server 30 (step S3). Here, the server 30 stores the attribute information of the printer driver program in association with a plurality of printer models. The attribute information of the driver program includes at least acquisition information for acquiring the corresponding driver program. The acquired information includes, for example, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) indicating the location of the driver program on the network 40 or the Internet connected via the network 40. When the server 30 stores the driver program, the acquisition information can be a URL indicating the location on the network 40 of the storage area of the driver program in the server 30.

  The server 30 searches the stored attribute information for attribute information of the driver program corresponding to the identification information in accordance with the request and identification information transmitted from the PC 10, and transmits the retrieved one or more attribute information to the PC 10. (Step S4). The PC 10 selects a driver program to be installed based on the one or more attribute information transmitted from the server 30 (step S5). The PC 10 requests download (DL) of the driver program according to the acquired information included in the attribute information corresponding to the selected driver program (step S6).

  In the example of FIG. 2, for the sake of explanation, the server 30 is shown as storing a driver program, but this is not limited to this example. For example, the driver program may be stored in another server on the network 40 or a server on the Internet connected via the network 40.

  The PC 10 acquires the downloaded driver program in response to the download request in step S6 (step S7). The PC 10 installs the acquired driver program in itself (step S8). As a result, the printer 20a can be used from the PC 10.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the PC 10 applicable to each embodiment. In FIG. 3, a PC 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1000, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1001, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1002, a storage 1005, a graphics I / F 1003, and an input / output I / F 1006. The communication I / F 1008 is connected to be communicable with each other via a bus 1010.

  The CPU 1000 controls the overall operation of the PC 10 using the RAM 1002 as a work memory in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 1001 or the storage 1005 in advance. The storage 1005 includes a hard disk drive and a non-volatile semiconductor memory (flash memory), and stores a program for operating the CPU 1000 and various data.

  The graphics I / F 1003 converts the display control signal generated according to the program by the CPU 1000 into a display signal that can be displayed on the display 1004, and supplies the display signal to the display 1004. The display 1004 uses, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) as a display device, and displays a screen according to a display signal supplied from the graphics I / F 1003 on the display device.

  The input / output I / F 1006 is an interface that performs communication with an external device. In the example of FIG. 3, an operation unit 1007 including a keyboard and a pointing device (such as a mouse) is connected to the input / output I / F 1006 as an external device. The input / output I / F 1006 is not limited to this, and connects a drive device that reads data from a disk storage medium such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or a storage such as a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. May be. As the input / output I / F 1006, for example, a USB can be used.

  The communication I / F 1008 performs communication via the network 40 using a predetermined protocol such as TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) under the control of the CPU 1000.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server 30 applicable to each embodiment. In FIG. 4, the server 30 includes a CPU 3000, a ROM 3001, a RAM 3002, a storage 3003, and a communication I / F 3004, and these units are communicably connected to each other via a bus 3010.

  The storage 3003 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory, for example. The storage 3003 stores a program operating on the CPU 3000 and various data, and stores attribute information of a driver program, which will be described later. The storage 3003 is not limited to the configuration built in the server 30 and may be externally connected to the server 30.

  The CPU 3000 controls the overall operation of the server 30 using the RAM 3002 as a work memory in accordance with a program read from the ROM 3001 or the storage 3003. The communication I / F 3004 performs communication via the network 40 using, for example, TCP / IP as a protocol under the control of the CPU 3000.

  The configuration of the server 30 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4. For example, as with a general computer, the server 30 is configured between a display control unit that displays a screen according to the screen information generated by the CPU 3000 and an external device. It may further include a data I / F that inputs and outputs the data and an input device that accepts user input.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the printer 20a applicable to each embodiment. In FIG. 5, the printer 20a includes a CPU 2000, a ROM 2001, a RAM 2002, an NVRAM (nonvolatile RAM) 2003, a storage 2006, a data I / F 2007, a communication I / F 2008, and a functional unit I / F 2004. These units are communicably connected to each other via a bus 2010.

  A storage 2006 is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive or a flash memory, and stores a program for operating the CPU 2000 and various data. In the ROM 2001, for example, programs and data used for starting the printer 20a and identification information (for example, PnP device ID) for identifying the model of the printer 20a are stored in advance. The NVRAM 2003 stores setting values set for the printer 20a. The CPU 2000 controls the overall operation of the printer 20a using the RAM 2002 as a work memory in accordance with the programs stored in the storage 2006 and the ROM 2001 and the data stored in the storage 2006 and the NVRAM 2003.

  The data I / F 2007 is an interface to an external device, and for example, USB can be applied. A communication I / F 2008 performs communication via the network 40 using, for example, TCP / IP as a protocol under the control of the CPU 2000.

  A functional unit I / F 2004 is an interface to the printer engine 2005 for realizing a printer function in the printer 20a. A functional unit I / F 2004 performs data arbitration processing between the printer engine 2005 and the CPU 2000, transmission / reception of control information, and the like.

  In the case of a scanner, a scanner engine for realizing the scanner function is connected instead of the printer engine 2005. In the case of an MFP, a scanner engine, a printer engine, and a FAX unit for realizing a plurality of functions that can be executed by the MFP, for example, a scanner function, a printer function, and a FAX function, are connected to the function unit I / F 2004.

(First embodiment)
Next, a first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, for each driver program stored in the server 30, a priority order is determined in advance for attribute information of each of a plurality of driver programs applicable to the same model. In the driver program selection process in step S5 in FIG. 2 described above, a driver program suitable for the PC 10 is selected according to this priority order.

  FIG. 6 is an exemplary functional block diagram for explaining functions of the PC 10 according to the first embodiment. The PC 10 includes a control unit 100, a communication unit 101, an installer 102, a display unit 103, and an input unit 104. The control unit 100, the communication unit 101, the installer 102, the display unit 103, and the input unit 104 are realized by a program that operates on the CPU 1000. Not limited to this, some or all of the control unit 100, the communication unit 101, the installer 102, the display unit 103, and the input unit 104 may be configured by hardware circuits that operate in cooperation with each other.

  The control unit 100 performs various determination processes according to the program and controls the overall operation of the PC 10. The communication unit 101 controls communication by the input / output I / F 1006 and the communication I / F 1008. The installer 102 executes a driver program installation process for the PC 10. The display unit 103 controls the graphics I / F 1003 to display an image on the display 1004. The input unit 104 receives an input made on the operation unit 1007.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the installer 102 according to the first embodiment. The installer 102 includes an installation unit 120 and a selection unit 121, and the selection unit 121 includes a PDL determination unit 1210, a display language determination unit 1211, and an architecture determination unit 1212.

  The installation unit 120 executes installation processing of the driver program on the PC 10. The selection unit 121 determines the order of the attribute information acquired from the server 30 based on the priority order determined in advance for each attribute information, and selects a driver program to be installed according to the determination result.

  More specifically, the selection unit 121 includes a PDL determination unit 1210, a display language determination unit 1211, and an architecture determination unit 1212. The PDL determination unit 1210 has information indicating a predetermined priority order for a PDL (Page Description Language) type, and performs a determination process based on the priority order. The information indicating the priority order may be embedded in, for example, a program that implements the installer 102 including the PDL determination unit 1210, or provided as independent data together with the installer 102 and stored in the storage 1005 or the like. May be.

  The display language determination unit 1211 determines the display language of the driver program to be installed according to the display language currently displayed by the OS (Operating System) of the PC 10. The architecture determination unit 1212 determines the architecture of the driver program to be installed based on the OS information of the PC 10.

  An information processing program for realizing each function according to the first embodiment in the PC 10 is a file in an installable format or an executable format, which is a CD (Compact Disk), a flexible disk (FD), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). ) And the like are provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the information processing program may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. The information processing program may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  The information processing program has a module configuration including the above-described units (the control unit 100, the communication unit 101, the installer 102, the display unit 103, and the input unit 104). As actual hardware, the CPU 1000 reads the information processing program from a storage medium such as the storage 1005 and executes the information processing program, whereby the above-described units are loaded on a main storage device such as the RAM 1002, and the control unit 100 and the communication unit 101. The installer 102, the display unit 103, and the input unit 104 are generated on the main storage device.

  FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of the functions of the printer 20a applicable to the first embodiment. The printer 20 a includes a communication unit 200, a device information storage unit 201, and a printer function unit 202. The communication unit 200, the device information storage unit 201, and the printer function unit 202 are realized by a program operating on the CPU 2000. Not limited to this, some or all of the communication unit 200, the device information storage unit 201, and the printer function unit 202 may be configured by hardware circuits that operate in cooperation with each other.

  The communication unit 200 controls communication by the data I / F 2007 and the communication I / F 2008. The device information storage unit 201 controls reading of identification information (for example, a PnP device ID) of the printer 20a and information indicating a destination of the printer 20a, which are stored in advance in a register provided in the communication I / F 2008, the ROM 2001, or the like. The destination is an area set as the shipping destination of the printer 20a, for example, “domestic” and “overseas”. The destination is related to the default language used in the printer 20a. The printer function unit 202 controls the printing function in the printer 20a.

  FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of an example for explaining the functions of the server 30 applicable to the first embodiment. The server 30 includes a communication unit 300, a distribution unit 301, and a driver attribute information storage unit 302. The communication unit 300, the distribution unit 301, and the driver attribute information storage unit 302 are realized by a program that operates on the CPU 3000. Not limited to this, some or all of the communication unit 300, the distribution unit 301, and the driver attribute information storage unit 302 may be configured by hardware circuits that operate in cooperation with each other.

  The communication unit 300 controls communication by the communication I / F 3004. The driver attribute information storage unit 302 controls reading of attribute information of a plurality of driver programs stored in the storage 3003, for example. The distribution unit 301 requests attribute information of the driver program from the driver attribute information storage unit 302 in accordance with the request received by the communication unit 300, and receives the attribute information passed from the driver attribute information storage unit 302 from the communication unit 300. Send. If the main body of the driver program is stored in the storage 3003, the distribution unit 301 requests the driver attribute information storage unit 302 for the driver program in accordance with the request received by the communication unit 300, and the driver attribute information storage unit The driver program passed from 302 is transmitted from the communication unit 300.

  Table 1 shows an example of driver program attribute information stored in, for example, the storage 3003 of the server 30. In Table 1, one driver program attribute information is described in one line. The attribute information includes items of “identification information”, “driver architecture”, “PDL”, “display language”, “version”, and “acquisition information”. Each attribute information is distinguished by a combination of these items. That is, a plurality of attribute information having the same content exists for each item.

  In Table 1, the item “identification information” is identification information for identifying the model of the device to which the driver program of the attribute information in the row corresponds, and for example, a PnP device ID is used. In the example of Table 1, printer types “printer #A”, “printer #B”, and “printer #C” are illustrated as values of the item “identification information”.

  The item “driver architecture” indicates an architecture applied to the driver program. The driver program architecture indicates the mechanism of the driver program. In the example of Table 1, the item “driver architecture” includes a value indicating whether the driver program can operate on a 32-bit OS or a 64-bit OS as a driver architecture, and a value indicating a function of the driver architecture (high Function, medium function).

  Whether or not a driver program based on these high-function and medium-function driver architectures (referred to as a high-function driver and a medium-function driver, respectively) can be applied to the PC 10 depends on, for example, the OS version of the PC 10. As an example, a driver program based on a high-performance driver architecture can be used by an OS of a predetermined version or higher.

  As the value indicating the function, for example, version information of the driver architecture itself can be used. If the OS corresponding to the driver program is Windows (registered trademark), for example, version 4 (V4) and version 3 (V3) of the driver architecture can be applied. V4 can provide a higher-function driver program than V3. In this example, V4 is compatible with Windows 8 (registered trademark) or later OS, and V3 is compatible with Windows 2000 (registered trademark) or later OS.

  The item “PDL” indicates the type of PDL corresponding to the driver program. In the example of Table 1, as the value of the item “PDL”, the types of PDL “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3” are exemplified.

  PDL is a page description language, for example, a language in which image information or character information created by a computer or the like is converted into a format that can be interpreted by a printer. In other words, the PDL can be said to be a command type, a command format, or a command set for the printer. The concept of PDL can be extended to a command language, a command type, a command format, a command set, etc. for an external device other than a printer controlled by a computer. Examples of typical types of PDL include RPCS (Refined Printing Command Stream), PCL6 (Printer Command Language 6), and PS (PostScript (registered trademark)).

  Here, the printer of the model “printer #A” uses a printer driver corresponding to the PDL type “PDL # 1” among the PDL types “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3”. In addition, the highest function or many functions can be realized, and the functions are limited in the order of PDL types “PDL # 2” and “PDL # 3”. Similarly, the printer of the model “printer #B” can realize the highest function or many functions when the printer driver corresponding to the PDL type “PDL # 2” is used, and the PDL type “PDL # 3” has a function. Are restricted, and the PDL type “PDL # 1” is not supported. Further, the printer of the model “printer #C” corresponds to the PDL type “PDL # 1” among the PDL types “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3”, and other PDL types include It is not supported.

  The item “display language” indicates a display language of the OS corresponding to the driver program. In the example of Table 1, “Japanese” and “English” are included as the value of the item “display language”. The item “version” includes a value indicating version information of the driver program.

  The item “acquisition information” indicates information for acquiring the driver program. The item “acquisition information” includes, for example, the above-described URL indicating the location on the Internet, the network 40, and the server 30 connected to the network 40 as the information for acquiring the driver program. Can be used.

  Next, the installation process of the driver program for the PC 10 according to the first embodiment will be described more specifically. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process flow for introducing the driver program according to the first embodiment into the PC 10. 10, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 6 to 9 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  For example, installation of a driver program is instructed by a user operation on the PC 10 (step S100). The user operation is accepted by the input unit 104 in the PC 10 and passed to the control unit 100. The control unit 100 makes an inquiry for requesting identification information and destination information indicating the destination of the printer 20a to the printer 20a via the communication unit 101 in accordance with the received instruction (steps S101 and S102). . This inquiry is received by the communication unit 200 in the printer 20a and passed to the device information storage unit 201 (step S103).

  The inquiry about the identification information to the printer 20a can be acquired from the OID (Object IDentifier) of MIB (Management Information Base) in SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) when the network 40 is used. In addition, when connected to the PC 10 by USB like the printer 20b, a technique for transmitting a PJL (Printer Job Language) command from the PC 10 to the printer 20a and acquiring identification information based on the response is known. .

  The device information storage unit 201 reads identification information and destination information stored in advance from, for example, a register of the communication I / F 2008 or the ROM 2001. The identification information and the destination information read to the device information storage unit 201 are transmitted to the PC 10 via the communication unit 200 (steps S104 and S105). The identification information and the destination information transmitted from the printer 20a are received by the communication unit 101 in the PC 10 and passed to the control unit 100 (step S106). That is, the control unit 100 also functions as an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information for identifying the model of the printer 20a.

  In step S107, the control unit 100 acquires OS information of the PC 10 (hereinafter referred to as OS information). The OS information acquired here includes at least OS version information indicating the version of the OS and information indicating the architecture such as whether the OS is a 32-bit OS or a 64-bit OS.

  Next, based on the identification information of the printer 20a acquired in step S106 and the OS information acquired in step S107, the control unit 100 performs a search requesting a search for the identification information and attribute information of the driver program corresponding to the OS information. The request is transmitted to the server 30 via the communication unit 101 (step S108, step S109).

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a search request that is applicable to the first embodiment and is transmitted from the control unit 100 to the server 30 in step S108 and step S109. As illustrated in FIG. 11, for example, the search request is a search with respect to a search destination URL of the server 30 and a search request command (“https://1.example.com/Sreach/Web?Query”). The identification information ("PrinterA") and the OS information ("32bit") that are search conditions in the command are added as arguments. The OS information may explicitly indicate OS version information or an OS name. If the applicable OS is limited in advance, it is possible to specify the OS by specifying only the information (“32 bit”) indicating the OS architecture, as in the example of FIG. .

  The search request transmitted from the PC 10 in step S109 is received by the communication unit 300 in the server 30. For example, the communication unit 300 passes the received search request to the distribution unit 301. The distribution unit 301 passes the search condition to the driver attribute information storage unit 302 in accordance with the search command included in the search request passed from the communication unit 300, and the driver attribute information storage unit 302 stores the driver program that matches the search condition. Requests retrieval of attribute information. In response to this request, the driver attribute information storage unit 302 uses attribute information stored in the driver program attribute information that matches the search conditions (identification information and OS information in this example) passed from the distribution unit 301. The search is performed, and attribute information obtained as a search result is passed to the distribution unit 301 as a list.

  The distribution unit 301 transmits the attribute information list passed from the driver attribute information storage unit 302 to the PC 10 via the communication unit 300 as a search result corresponding to the search request (step S110). The search result transmitted from the server 30 is received by the communication unit 101 and passed to the control unit 100 in the PC 10 (step S111). That is, the control unit 100 also functions as an attribute information acquisition unit that acquires the attribute information of the driver program corresponding to the model of the printer 20a and the OS information of the PC 10.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of a search result transmitted from the server 30 applicable to the first embodiment. In FIG. 12, unless otherwise specified, the numbers at the beginning of each line indicate line numbers for explanation, and are distinguished from codes that indicate the data body by the following colon (:). The code illustrated in FIG. 12 is described using XML (Extensible Markup Language), which is a kind of markup language described by defining the meaning and structure of data using tags. This is merely an example, and the search result description method is not particularly limited. For example, the search result may be described in JSON (JavaScript (registered trademark) Object Notation) or in a binary format.

  In FIG. 12, the XML version in which this data is described in the first line and the encoding method are defined. The start tag “<Software>” in the second line and the end tag “</ The search result is described between “Software>” (third line). The search result is described with attribute information corresponding to one driver program sandwiched between a pair of characters “<” and character “>”. In the example of FIG. 12, in the third line, the items “identification information”, “driver architecture”, “PDL”, “display language”, “version”, and “acquisition information” of the attribute information described in Table 1 are displayed. Each corresponding value is described as “Driver name”, “DriverArchitecture”, “PDL”, “language”, “version” and “DownloadURL” following the character “<”, and ends with the character “>”. Yes.

  By describing multiple attribute information between the pair of character “<” and character “>” between start tag “<Software>” and end tag “</ Software>”, multiple attributes Search results including information can be constructed.

  Based on the search result (list of attribute information) passed from the communication unit 101 in step S111, the control unit 100 identifies a driver program to be installed in the PC 10 by the processing in the following steps S112 to S118.

  First, in step S112 and step S113, the control unit 100 narrows down by the driver program architecture. In step S112, the control unit 100 passes the search result acquired in step S111 to the installer 102, and instructs the installer 102 to narrow down by architecture. In the installer 102, the architecture determination unit 1212 follows the instruction, based on the information indicated in the item “driver architecture” in the passed search result and the OS information of the PC 10 acquired by the control unit 100 in step S 107. The attribute information corresponding to the installation candidate driver program is extracted from each attribute information included in.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the architecture determination unit 1212 according to the first embodiment. In step S10, the architecture determination unit 1212 determines whether the OS of the PC 10 corresponds to a high function driver based on the OS information. As an example, it is assumed that the high function driver corresponds to a specific version of the OS (for example, the latest version of the OS when the high function driver is developed), and the architecture determination unit 1212 is indicated in the OS information. It is determined whether or not the OS version information indicates this specific version. If it is determined that the architecture determination unit 1212 is compatible (step S10, “Yes”), the process proceeds to step S11.

  In step S11, the architecture determination unit 1212 determines whether or not the value “high-function driver” is included in the item “driver architecture” of each attribute information in the attribute information list that is the search result. If the architecture determination unit 1212 determines that it is included (step S11, “Yes”), the process proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, the architecture determination unit 1212 narrows down the driver programs to be installed to high-function drivers. More specifically, the architecture determination unit 1212 extracts attribute information whose item “driver architecture” is “high function” from among the attribute information included in the attribute information list acquired in step S112. The architecture determination unit 1212 passes the extracted attribute information to the control unit 100 as a search result (step S113 in FIG. 10), and ends a series of processes according to the flowchart in FIG.

  The architecture determination unit 1212 determines that the OS of the PC 10 does not support the high function driver in step S10 described above (step S10, “No”), or the search result does not include the high function driver in step S11. (Step S11, “No”), the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the architecture determination unit 1212 extracts each piece of attribute information whose item “driver architecture” is “medium function” from the pieces of attribute information included in the list of attribute information acquired in step S112.

  The architecture determination unit 1212 passes the extracted attribute information to the control unit 100 as a search result (step S113 in FIG. 10), and ends a series of processes according to the flowchart in FIG.

  The architecture determination unit 1212 can make each determination using the information indicating whether the OS is a 32-bit OS or a 64-bit OS based on the OS information in the process of the flowchart of FIG. As an example, if the high-function driver corresponds to a 64-bit OS, does not support a 32-bit OS, and the OS information indicates a 32-bit OS, the high-function driver does not support the determination in step S10. The OS is determined (step S10, “No”). In step S13, when narrowing down the installation target driver to the medium function driver, the medium function driver is further narrowed down based on the OS information indicating the 32-bit OS and the 64-bit OS.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 10, next, the control unit 100 narrows down the display language in steps S <b> 114 to S <b> 116. In step S114, the control unit 100 passes the search result passed in step S113 and the destination information acquired in step S106 to the installer 102 in accordance with the process of the flowchart of FIG. The installer 102 is instructed. In the installer 102, the display language determination unit 1211 acquires the currently set display language (Japanese, English, etc.) from the OS of the PC 10 in response to this instruction (step S115). The display language determination unit 1211 installs from each attribute information included in the search result based on the information indicated in the item “display language” in the passed search result and the display language acquired by the control unit 100 in step S115. Attribute information corresponding to the candidate driver program is extracted.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the display language determination unit 1211 according to the first embodiment. In step S20, the display language determination unit 1211 acquires the display language currently set in the OS of the PC 10 (step S115 in FIG. 10). For example, if the OS is Windows (registered trademark), the display language of the OS can be acquired by using a function “GetUserDefaultUILanguage ()” provided in the Windows (registered trademark) API (Application Programming Interface).

  In the next step S21, the display language determination unit 1211 determines from the attribute information included in the search result passed from the control unit 100 that the value of the item “display language” matches the display language acquired in step S20. Search for information. In the next step S22, the display language determination unit 1211 determines whether or not the corresponding attribute information has been found as a result of the search. If the display language determination unit 1211 determines that the corresponding attribute information has been found (step S22, “Yes”), the display language determination unit 1211 shifts the processing to step S23.

  In step S23, the display language determination unit 1211 narrows down the driver programs to be installed based on the search result in step S21. More specifically, the display language determination unit 1211 displays the display acquired in step S20 as the value of the item “display language” among the attribute information included in the attribute information list as the search result acquired in step S114. Each attribute information including the language is passed to the control unit 100 as a search result (step S116 in FIG. 10), and a series of processes according to the flowchart in FIG. 14 is terminated.

  If the display language determination unit 1211 determines in step S22 described above that the corresponding attribute information has not been found (step S22, “No”), the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the display language determination unit 1211 acquires the destination information acquired by the control unit 100 in step S106 of FIG. Then, the display language determination unit 1211 transmits, to the control unit 100, each attribute information whose item “display language” value corresponds to the destination information among the attribute information included in the search result acquired in step S114 as a search result. Passing (step S116 in FIG. 10), the series of processes according to the flowchart in FIG. 14 is terminated.

  As described above, the destination information is information indicating a region such as “domestic” and “overseas” set as a shipping destination of the printer 20a. For example, it is assumed that the display language determination unit 1211 has in advance a table indicating a correspondence relationship between information indicating an area indicated in the destination information and a default language of the printer 20a set for the area. In this table, as a value indicating the default language, for example, the value “ja” indicating Japanese is associated with the value “domestic” of the destination information, and the value “en” indicating English is associated with the value “foreign” of the destination information. Are associated.

  The display language determination unit 1211 matches the language indicated by the value indicating the default language associated with the value indicating the destination information of the printer 20a in the attribute information included in the search result. Or each corresponding attribute information is passed to the control part 100 as a search result.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 10, the control unit 100 performs narrowing down by PDL in steps S117 and S118. In step S117, the control unit 100 passes the search result passed in step S116 to the installer 102 in accordance with the process of the flowchart of FIG. 14, and instructs the installer 102 to narrow down by PDL. In the installer 102, in response to this instruction, the PDL determination unit 1210 performs determination according to the priority order for the value of the item “PDL” in each attribute information included in the search result.

  As described above, the PDL determination unit 1210 has information indicating a priority order predetermined for the type of PDL. Here, for each PDL type “PDL # 1,” “PDL # 2,” and “PDL # 3” indicated in the item “PDL” shown in Table 1, the priority is “PDL # 1”> “ It is assumed that the PDL type “PDL # 1” has the highest priority, and the PDL type “PDL # 3” has the lowest priority.

  Note that the priority set for each PDL type is, for example, the highest function PDL type established by the information processing program provider according to the first embodiment is set to the highest priority. As an example, in the information processing program provided by the manufacturer that is the manufacturer of the printer 20a, the highest priority is set for the PDL type that can realize the most advanced and multifunctional functions in the printer 20a. For example, the printer 20a can realize the most advanced and multifunctional functions by applying a PDL developed by the manufacturer of the printer 20a.

  For other PDL types, for example, when applied to the printer 20a, lower priority levels are set in order of decreasing functions with respect to the highest priority PDL type. The other PDL types may be, for example, standard PDL types that can be commonly handled by the printer 20a and a printer provided by another manufacturer that is different from the manufacturer of the printer 20a. Good.

  As an example, let us consider a case where, in each of the above-described PDL types of RPCS, PCL6, and PS, when the printer 20a applies a driver program corresponding to the PDL type “RPCS”, the highest function and multi-function can be realized. In this case, the priority of the PDL type “PRCS” is set highest for the model of the printer 20a, and the priorities of the other PDL types “PCL6” and “PS” are set higher than the priority of the PDL type “PRCS”. It is possible to set it low.

  Note that the priority setting rule for each PDL type is not limited to this example.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the PDL determination unit 1210 according to the first embodiment. In the following description, the PDL types “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3” described above are appropriately assigned to the PDL types “first PDL”, “second PDL” from the higher priority order, respectively. This will be described as “PDL” and “third PDL”.

  In FIG. 15, in step S30, the PDL determination unit 1210 determines whether at least one of the attribute information of the search result corresponds to the PDL type “first PDL” set with the highest priority. judge. More specifically, the PDL determination unit 1210 determines whether there is attribute information in which the value of the item “PDL” indicates the PDL type “first PDL” among the attribute information of the search results.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 determines that there is attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “first PDL” (step S30, “Yes”), the PDL determination unit 1210 shifts the process to step S31. In step S31, according to the determination result in step S30, the PDL determination unit 1210 selects a driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “first PDL” among the attribute information of the search result as an installation target. To do. The PDL determination unit 1210 passes the attribute information of the selected driver program to the control unit 100 as a search result (step S118 in FIG. 10). Then, a series of processes according to the flowchart of FIG.

  At this stage, the attribute information corresponding to the identification information is narrowed down by the values of the items “driver architecture” and “display language” by the processes of the flowcharts of FIGS. 13 and 14 described above. One driver program is selected for installation.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 determines in step S30 that there is no attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “first PDL” (step S30, “No”), the process proceeds to step S32. In step S <b> 32, the PDL determination unit 1210 corresponds to at least one of the pieces of attribute information of the search result corresponding to the PDL type “second PDL” that has the next highest priority after the PDL type “first PDL”. It is determined whether or not.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 determines that there is attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “second PDL” (step S32, “Yes”), the process proceeds to step S33. In step S33, according to the determination result in step S32, the PDL determination unit 1210 selects a driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “second PDL” among the attribute information of the search result as an installation target. To do. The PDL determination unit 1210 passes the attribute information of the selected driver program to the control unit 100 as a search result (step S118 in FIG. 10). Then, a series of processes according to the flowchart of FIG.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 determines in step S32 that there is no attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “second PDL” (step S32, “No”), the process proceeds to step S34. In step S <b> 34, the PDL determination unit 1210 corresponds to at least one of the pieces of attribute information of the search result corresponding to the PDL type “third PDL” set with the second highest priority after the PDL type “second PDL”. It is determined whether or not.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 determines that attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “third PDL” exists (step S34, “Yes”), the process proceeds to step S35. In step S35, according to the determination result in step S34, the PDL determination unit 1210 selects a driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “third PDL” from among the attribute information of the search result as an installation target. To do. The PDL determination unit 1210 passes the attribute information of the selected driver program to the control unit 100 as a search result (step S118 in FIG. 10). Then, a series of processes according to the flowchart of FIG.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 determines in step S34 that there is no attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “third PDL” (step S34, “No”), the process proceeds to step S36. In step S36, the PDL determination unit 1210 determines that there is no driver program corresponding to the identification information acquired in steps S105 and S106 of FIG. 10, and ends a series of processes according to the flowchart of FIG. In this case, the PDL determination unit 1210 can notify the control unit 100 that there is no corresponding driver program, for example.

  In FIG. 15, the PDL types to be determined are three types, and PDL determination is performed in three stages of step S30, step S32, and step S34. However, this is not limited to this example. That is, in the flowchart of FIG. 15, a determination process (for example, step S30) as to whether or not the attribute information corresponds to the PDL type corresponding to the priority order, and a driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type are set as installation targets. The combination with the process to select (for example, step S31) can be repeated according to the number of PDL types to be determined. As a result, the determination process can be similarly executed for four or more types of PDL types or two or less types of PDL types.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the control unit 100 identifies a driver program to be installed based on the search result acquired from the PDL determination unit 1210 in step S118 (step S119). The control unit 100 extracts the value (URL) of the item “acquired information” from the attribute information that is the search result acquired from the PDL determination unit 1210, and requests the driver program download (DL) using the extracted URL as a destination. (Step S120, Step S121). In the example of FIG. 10, the server 30 stores the driver program, and the URL indicates a position where the driver program is stored in the server 30.

  In response to the download request from the PC 10 by the control unit 100, the server 30 transmits the driver program stored in the URL to the PC 10 (step S122). In the PC 10, the communication unit 101 receives the downloaded driver program transmitted from the server 30, and passes the received driver program to the control unit 100 (step S123). That is, the control unit 100 also functions as a program acquisition unit that acquires a driver program based on the acquisition information.

  The control unit 100 instructs the installation unit 120 to install the downloaded driver program on the PC 10 (step S124). The installation unit 120 installs the driver program in the PC 10 according to this instruction (step S125).

  Here, the driver program narrowing-down process in steps S112 to S118 described above will be described more specifically with reference to Table 1. Here, when installing a driver program corresponding to the printer 20a, the identification information acquired by the control unit 100 in step S106 indicates the model “printer #A”, and the destination of the printer 20a is “Japan”. Suppose that In the PC 10, it is assumed that the display language is “Japanese”, the OS is a 32-bit OS, and the version is different from the specific version corresponding to the high function driver.

  First, in steps S101 to S111, the control unit 100 acquires identification information and destination information from the printer 20a, and acquires attribute information corresponding to the identification information from the server 30 based on the identification information. In the example of Table 1, seven attribute information items of the first to seventh lines (excluding the item name line; the same applies below) in which the value of the item “identification information” is “printer #A” are acquired. .

  In step S112 to step S113, the control unit 100 causes the architecture determination unit 1212 to narrow down the acquired attribute information using the driver architecture in accordance with the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. In this example, since the OS of the PC 10 does not support a high-function driver and the architecture is a 32-bit OS, the attributes of the third row, the fifth row, and the seventh row in Table 1 Information is acquired as a search result.

  Next, in step S114 to step S116, the control unit 100 performs an OS on each attribute information acquired as a search result in step S112 to step S113 by the display language determination unit 1211 according to the process of the flowchart in FIG. Filter by display language. In this example, since the current display language of the OS is “Japanese”, the attribute information narrowed down in steps S112 to S113 described above, that is, the third, fifth and fifth rows in Table 1. The attribute information on the seventh line is acquired as it is as a search result.

  Next, in step S117 to step S118, the control unit 100 performs an item “for each attribute information acquired as a search result in step S114 to step S116 by the PDL determination unit 1210 according to the process of the flowchart of FIG. Priority determination for “PDL” is performed. In this example, the priority order is PDL information “PDL # 1”> “PDL # 2”> “PDL # 3”. Therefore, the value of the item “PDL” is the highest among the attribute information narrowed down in the above-described steps S114 to S116, that is, the attribute information of the third row, the fifth row, and the seventh row in Table 1. The attribute information on the third row, which is the value “PDL # 1” indicating the high priority, is acquired as the search result.

  The control unit 100 downloads the driver program in accordance with the URL indicated in the item “acquired information” of the attribute information on the third line in Table 1 acquired as the search result.

  Thus, in the first embodiment, for example, a driver program for using the printer 20a from the PC 10 is selected based on the information acquired from the printer 20a and the OS information of the PC 10. Therefore, the driver program suitable for the printer 20a and the PC 10 can be automatically acquired without the user explicitly specifying the driver program.

  At this time, a priority order is set in advance for the PDL type, and the driver program is selected in order from the PDL type having a higher priority order. Therefore, it is possible to automatically acquire a driver program that can appropriately use the functions of the printer 20a without the user explicitly specifying the driver program.

  Further, on the driver program provider side, it is necessary to specify the PDL to be preferentially installed for each model even when a plurality of driver programs corresponding to each model correspond to different PDLs for each model. No. That is, it is possible to install a driver program corresponding to PDL appropriate for each model using a common installer.

  In the above description, in the first embodiment, as shown in step S112 to step S118 of FIG. 10, the narrowing by the driver architecture is performed (step S112 to step S113), and then the narrowing by the display current word of the OS is performed. (Step S114 to step S116), and finally narrowing down by PDL type (step S117 to step S118) is performed, but this is not limited to this example. For example, any one or both of the narrowing by the driver architecture in steps S112 to S113 and the narrowing by the display current word of the OS in steps S114 to S116 may be omitted.

  In the above description, the driver program is a printer driver program for controlling the printer, but this is not limited to this example. For example, a scanner driver program for controlling the scanner can be applied to the first embodiment. For example, when Windows (registered trademark) is an OS, TWAIN and WIA (Windows (registered trademark) Image Acquisition) are representative examples of applicable scanner driver programs. By setting priorities to information of common items in the attribute information of these driver programs, it is possible to select and install an appropriate driver program in the same manner as the printer driver as described above.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment described above, the processing after the driver program installation instruction in step S100 of FIG. In contrast, the second embodiment is provided with a UI (User Interface) for selecting a driver program to be installed by a user operation.

  FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the installer 102 ′ according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 16, the same reference numerals are given to the portions common to FIG. 7 described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 16, an installer 102 'has a UI unit 122 added to the installer 102 shown in FIG. The UI unit 122 presents information to the user in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 100, generates a display screen for prompting a user operation, and causes the display unit 103 to display the display screen. Also, the UI unit 122 receives a user operation performed according to the generated display screen via the input unit 104 and passes it to the control unit 100.

  In the installer 102 ′, the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ performs determination according to the priority order for the value of the item “PDL” in each attribute information included in the search result, and selects a candidate driver program to be installed. Extract.

  In the second embodiment, the functions of the printer 20a and the server 30 are the same as the functions described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, and a description thereof is omitted here.

  Next, the installation process for the PC 10 of the driver program according to the second embodiment will be described more specifically. FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram of an example showing a flow of introduction processing of the driver program according to the second embodiment into the PC 10. In FIG. 17, the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to those in FIGS. 10 and 16 described above, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In FIG. 17, the processing from step S100 to step S116 is the same as the processing from step S100 to step S116 in FIG. 10 described above, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

  In step S200 and step S201, the control unit 100 creates a list of candidate driver programs to be installed based on the PDL type for the search results narrowed down by the driver architecture and the OS display language through the processing up to step S116. To do. In step S200, the control unit 100 passes the search result passed in step S116 to the installer 102 ′ according to the process of the flowchart of FIG. 14, and performs determination by PDL to extract attribute information that is a candidate for installation. The installer 102 'is instructed.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of determination processing by the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ according to the second embodiment. The priority order of each PDL information is assumed to be the same as the priority order described in FIG. In FIG. 18, in step S40, the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ determines whether at least one of the attribute information of the search results corresponds to the PDL type “first PDL” set with the highest priority. Determine.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines that attribute information corresponding to the PDL type "first PDL" exists (step S40, "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S41. In step S41, according to the determination result of step S40, the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ sets the driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “first PDL” among the attribute information of the search result as an installation target. Select the selected driver program and add it to the list of candidate drivers for installation. Then, the PDL determination unit 1210 'shifts the processing to step S42.

  On the other hand, if the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines in step S40 that there is no attribute information corresponding to the PDL type "first PDL" (step S40, "No"), the process proceeds to step S42.

  In step S <b> 42, the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ determines whether at least one of the attribute information of the search result corresponds to the PDL type “second PDL”.

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines that there is attribute information corresponding to the PDL type "second PDL" (step S42, "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S43. In step S43, according to the determination result of step S42, the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ sets the driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “second PDL” among the attribute information of the search result as an installation target. Select and add to the driver program list of installation candidates described above. Then, the PDL determination unit 1210 'shifts the process to step S44.

  On the other hand, if the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines in step S42 that there is no attribute information corresponding to the PDL type "second PDL" (step S42, "No"), the process proceeds to step S44.

  In step S44, the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines whether at least one of the attribute information of the search result corresponds to the PDL type "third PDL".

  If the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines that attribute information corresponding to the PDL type "third PDL" exists (step S44, "Yes"), the process proceeds to step S45. In step S45, according to the determination result in step S44, the PDL determination unit 1210 ′ sets the driver program corresponding to the attribute information corresponding to the PDL type “third PDL” among the attribute information of the search result as an installation target. Select and add to the driver program list of installation candidates described above. Then, the PDL determination unit 1210 'shifts the process to step S46.

  On the other hand, when the PDL determination unit 1210 'determines in step S44 that there is no attribute information corresponding to the PDL type "third PDL" (step S44, "No"), the process proceeds to step S46.

  In step S46, the PDL determination unit 1210 'outputs a list of driver programs to which installation candidate driver programs have been added in step S41, step S43, and step S45, and passes them to the control unit 100 (step S201 in FIG. 17).

  The control unit 100 creates an option list for selecting a driver program to be installed based on the installation candidate driver program list passed from the PDL determination unit 1210 '. Table 2 shows an example of a list of options created based on the attribute information of Table 1 for each printer identification information.

  As exemplified in Table 2, for example, when the printer selected for use from the PC 10 is the model of the identification information “printer #A”, the installation candidate driver program is the PDL type “PDL # 1”. , Driver programs corresponding to “PDL # 2” and “PDL # 3”, respectively. The control unit 100 creates a list of options including driver programs respectively corresponding to these PDL types “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3”.

  At this time, the control unit 100 displays driver names “PDL # 1 driver” and “PDL # 2 driver” indicating driver programs respectively corresponding to the PDL types “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3”. And “PDL # 3 driver” are arranged in the order according to the priority of the corresponding PDL types “PDL # 1”, “PDL # 2”, and “PDL # 3”, respectively, to create a list of options. In the example of Table 2, the driver name “PDL # 1 driver” of the driver program corresponding to the PDL type “PDL # 1” having the highest priority is arranged at the top of the option list. In addition, the driver name “PDL # 3 driver” of the driver program corresponding to the PDL type “PDL # 3” having the lowest priority is arranged at the end of the option list.

  Similarly, when the selected printer is the identification information “printer #B” or “printer #C”, the driver programs are similarly arranged in the order according to the priority order of the corresponding PDL type, and the option list is displayed. Created.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 17, the control unit 100 passes the created option list to the UI unit 122, and instructs the UI unit 122 to create an option list screen for selecting a driver program to be installed from the option list. (Step S202). The UI unit 122 creates an option list screen based on the option list delivered from the control unit 100 and causes the display unit 103 to display the option list screen on the display 1004 of the PC 10.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of an option list screen 400 created by the UI unit 122 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 19, the option list screen 400 includes a message display unit 401, a selection unit 402, an expansion button 403, an “OK” button 404, and a “cancel” button 405. The message display unit 401 displays, for example, a message prompting selection of a driver program. The selection unit 402 displays the driver names “PDL # 1 driver”, “PDL # 2 driver”, and “PDL # 3 driver” of each driver program in the option list in the order according to the priority order of the corresponding PDL types. The

  An expansion button 403 expands the display area of the selection unit 402. For example, in the default state, the selection unit 402 displays only the driver program having the highest priority of the corresponding PDL type among the driver programs included in the option list. By operating the expansion button 403 in this state, information on all the driver programs included in the option list is displayed on the selection unit 402. The example of FIG. 19 illustrates a state in which information on all driver programs included in the option list is displayed by operating the expansion button 403.

  By operating the “OK” button 404, the driver program specified by the selection unit 402 is selected as an installation target. In the example of FIG. 19, the driver name “PDL # 2 driver” among the driver names “PDL # 1 driver”, “PDL # 2 driver”, and “PDL # 3 driver” displayed on the selection unit 402 is designated. . By operating the “OK” button 404 in this state, the driver program with the designated driver name “PDL # 2 driver” is selected as the driver program to be installed.

  A “cancel” button 405 cancels the processing related to the option list screen 400. For example, by operating a “cancel” button 405, for example, the driver program installation process for the PC 10 is canceled.

  Returning to FIG. 17, when the UI unit 122 inputs a driver program to the option list screen 400 by the selection unit 402 and the user inputs an operation on the “OK” button 404 (step S <b> 203). The driver program selection result is passed to the control unit 100 (step S204).

  The control unit 100 specifies a driver program to be installed based on the driver program selection result passed from the UI unit 122 in step S204 (step S119). Henceforth, since the process of step S120-step S125 is the same as the process demonstrated in FIG. 10, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, a driver program to be installed can be selected from each of the installation candidate driver programs displayed on the option list screen 400 according to a user operation. Therefore, the user can install a driver program suitable for the application even if it is not the most advanced function. In addition, the option list screen 400 displays each driver program in an order according to the priority order, so that it is easy to select a driver program with higher functionality.

  The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

10 PC
20a, 20b Printer 30 Server 40 Network 100 Control unit 101, 200, 300 Communication unit 102, 102 'Installer 103 Display unit 104 Input unit 120 Installation unit 121 Selection unit 122 UI unit 201 Device information storage unit 301 Distribution unit 302 Driver attribute information Storage unit 400 Choice list screen 402 Selection unit 1210, 1210 ′ PDL determination unit 1211 Display language determination unit 1212 Architecture determination unit

JP2012-252526A

Claims (11)

An identification information acquisition unit for acquiring identification information for identifying the model;
An attribute information acquisition unit that acquires attribute information indicating attributes of each of a plurality of programs applicable to the model based on the identification information;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a selection unit that selects a program to be installed from the plurality of programs based on a priority order predetermined for the attribute information. The selection unit includes:
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a program corresponding to the attribute information having the highest priority among the plurality of programs corresponding to the identification information is selected. A display unit that displays the attribute information acquired by the attribute information acquisition unit in a list according to the priority;
The selection unit includes:
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a program corresponding to the attribute information designated in accordance with display of the list is selected from the plurality of programs. The attribute information includes at least instruction type information indicating a type of instruction for the model of the program corresponding to the attribute information,
The selection unit includes:
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a program is selected from the plurality of programs based on the predetermined priority order with respect to the instruction type information. The attribute information further includes system information indicating an operating system corresponding to a program corresponding to the attribute information,
The selection unit includes:
5. The program according to claim 4, further comprising: selecting a program from the plurality of programs based on the system information, and further selecting a program based on the priority order predetermined for the instruction type information among the selected programs. Information processing device. The attribute information further includes language information indicating a display language corresponding to a program corresponding to the attribute information,
The selection unit includes:
Of the plurality of programs, a program in which the display language indicated by the language information included in the attribute information matches the display language selected in the operating system installed in the information processing apparatus is selected and selected. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a program is further selected based on the priority order predetermined for the instruction type information. The attribute information further includes acquisition information indicating an acquisition method of a program corresponding to the attribute information,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a program acquisition unit that acquires a program selected by the selection unit among the plurality of programs based on the acquisition information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising an installation unit that installs the program acquired by the program acquisition unit in the information processing apparatus. A storage unit that associates and stores identification information for identifying a model and attribute information indicating attributes of a plurality of programs applicable to the model;
An identification information acquisition unit for acquiring identification information for identifying the model of the device from the device;
An attribute information acquisition unit that acquires the attribute information associated with the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit from the storage unit;
An information processing comprising: a selection unit that selects a program corresponding to the attribute information having the highest priority among the plurality of programs corresponding to the identification information based on a priority order predetermined for the attribute information system. An identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information for identifying the model;
An attribute information acquisition step for acquiring attribute information indicating attributes of a plurality of programs applicable to the model based on the identification information;
And a selection step of selecting a program corresponding to the attribute information having the highest priority among the plurality of programs corresponding to the identification information based on a priority order predetermined for the attribute information. Method. An identification information acquisition step of acquiring identification information for identifying the model;
An attribute information acquisition step for acquiring attribute information indicating attributes of a plurality of programs applicable to the model based on the identification information;
A selection step of selecting a program corresponding to the attribute information having the highest priority among the plurality of programs corresponding to the identification information based on a predetermined priority order for the attribute information. Information processing program to let you.

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